As LASP’s lead scientist, Erik Richard oversees the institute’s portfolio of scientific research programs and projects, supporting a team of 100 scientists. In a rapidly evolving external environment, Erik plays a key role in identifying emerging trends, assessing their implications, and helping ensure LASP remains competitive and positioned for scientific leadership. Prior to stepping into his current role, Erik has served as a LASP researcher for more than 20 years and for the last 4 years has been the Assistant Director for LASP’s Earth Atmosphere Group. Erik is a recognized leader in solar irradiance instrumentation and measurements focusing on long-term solar data record development. He is the principal investigator for NASA’s Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor-2 (TSIS-2) mission, slated for launch in 2027, and serves as co-investigator and an instrument lead for the ongoing TSIS-1 mission. His prior leadership and research roles include serving as principal investigator of NASA’s Compact Spectral Irradiance Monitor (CSIM) CubeSat and co-investigator on the SORCE mission. Erik continues to collaborate with LASP instrument scientists and engineers to advance precision radiometry and absolute calibration, driving the development of state-of-the-art radiometric facilities and compact instrumentation for next-generation CubeSat and SmallSat missions.